Chapter 86 Angels
Chapter 86 Angels
The death ray left trails of black electricity in the air, its angles unusually sharp, completely blocking all of Alecto's escape routes, leaving him with no way to avoid it.
Alecto's dragon eyes suddenly narrowed.
These rays contain a curse of decay and decay, a death magic capable of eroding the very essence of life. Even the powerful physique of a red dragon would be severely injured if struck head-on.
He made a decision instantly.
Golden flames erupted and condensed into a shield in front of him.
At the same time, he tilted his body slightly to the left, spread his dragon wings, and his golden patterns circulated wildly, deflecting the most deadly rays.
Only one final death ray struck his shield.
The shield trembled violently as golden flames clashed fiercely with the darkness, constantly emitting a hissing, corrosive sound.
The shield shattered in less than half a second, but the beam dimmed by nearly half as a result.
In a moment of desperation, Alekto extended his dragon-transformed right arm to meet the attack.
Under the impact of the death ray, his dragon scales lost their luster at a visible speed, turning grayish-white, decaying, and eventually cracking.
A sharp pain shot through him; his life force was being drained, his muscle tissue was withering, and even his bones were groaning under the unbearable strain.
Alecto gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing the painful roar rising in his throat.
Using the force of the ray impact, he flew backward while simultaneously manipulating the golden flames to unleash an even more intense light, concealing his true injuries.
To everyone else, Alecto looked like he had been severely injured and defeated, and was in a sorry state.
"Owner!"
Gru's roar exploded from the giant skeletal hand.
The orc chieftain Gronn roared as well, and the humiliation and anger of their imprisonment erupted completely at that moment.
Gru's muscles were stretched to their limit, and dragon scales were faintly visible under his skin. He gripped the white bone tightly with both arms and then exerted force one by one!
Click!
The finger bones of the giant skeletal hand were forcibly broken.
The flames on Gronn's body spread to his bone hands, and the bones quickly turned black and carbonized under the high temperature, becoming brittle.
"Open it!"
The warhammer swung around and slammed hard into the carbonized joint.
The giant skeletal hand shattered instantly.
The two broke free of their restraints, and upon landing, they rolled to dissipate the impact, immediately heading towards the direction where Alecto had been flying backward.
A hint of surprise flashed in the lich's eyes.
The two dragonborn broke free faster than he had anticipated.
However—it's harmless.
In the underground plaza, the ancient stone bricks trembled violently under heavy footsteps.
Andrei raised his longsword, which was burning with holy light, and pointed it directly at the undead army surging ahead.
"Form ranks!"
The Holy Knights' response was perfectly synchronized, like the harmonious clang of steel.
The tower shield crashed heavily to the ground, its edges fitting together to form an insurmountable steel barrier.
The heavily armored knight crouched low behind the shield wall, his lance pointing forward.
On the other side, the skeletal mage raised his bone staff, and the vengeful banshee floated into the air, emitting a piercing shriek.
The Death Knight, clad in heavy plate armor, rode his skeletal warhorse, its hooves echoing hollowly as it crashed into the Holy Light Shield like a torrent.
"Holy Impact!"
Twenty beams of holy light shot out from behind the knights' ranks, striking the densest part of the death knights' charge formation.
Boom!
The shockwave from the explosion overturned the skeletal warhorses in the front row, and the holy light and death energy collided violently, bursting out with a dazzling halo.
The Death Knight, struck head-on, turned to ashes along with his horse, but his companions on either side remained undeterred and continued their charge.
"Collide!"
Andrei roared, and holy light surged from his body, pouring into the entire shield wall.
The paladins at the front row shouted in unison, and the surface of the tower shield suddenly lit up.
Boom!
A dull, heart-stopping thud rang out.
The black torrent clashed head-on with the holy light barrier.
The skeletal warhorse crashed into the tower shield, its bones scattering everywhere, but the impact still transmitted through the shield to the knights.
The paladins' legs were firmly planted on the ground, their arm muscles stretched to their limit, and their bodies under heavy armor groaned in unbearable strain.
The Death Knight's weapon struck the shield, the ghostly green and holy light clashing fiercely, erupting with a hissing corrosion.
"prick!"
Andrei pointed his sword forward.
From the gaps in the shield wall, lances pierced out like venomous snakes.
The spear tip, imbued with holy light, easily pierced through the Death Knights' plate armor and plunged into their hollow chest cavities.
The stabbed undead paused, the soul fire in its eye sockets flickered violently, and was then completely purified by the holy light surging from the gun, turning into black smoke and dissipating.
But there were too many undead.
As soon as the first row of Death Knights falls, the second row immediately takes their place.
They continued their charge, stepping over the remains of their companions, their longswords slashing wildly at the shields, their eerie green constantly eroding the holy light.
"Left side!"
A paladin roared, cracks already appearing on the surface of his shield.
Andrei glanced to his left.
At least thirty death knights had gathered there, forming a simple wedge formation to concentrate their attack on a single point.
The shield wall has begun to deform under continuous impact.
"Third squad, support the left flank!"
As soon as Andrei gave the order, a piercing shriek came from the sky.
The vengeful banshee swooped down, her translucent spirit penetrating physical defenses and directly attacking the knights' faceplates.
The paladin, attacked by the banshee, paused, a look of confusion flashing in his eyes.
"Purification Halo!"
Linus's voice rang out at just the right moment.
He slammed his scepter to the ground, and a pure white halo emanated from him, sweeping across the entire knight formation.
The vengeful banshee that was swept by the halo let out a painful scream, white smoke rose from the surface of her spirit, and she was forced to rise in altitude.
But just as the paladins breathed a sigh of relief, the skeletal mages finished their incantation.
Countless bone spears coalesced in the air, their tips swirling with dense death energy, before raining down on the shield wall.
"Holy Light Shield!"
Andrei planted his greatsword in the ground and clasped his hands together.
A golden light shield unfolded above the knights' formation.
The bone spears crashed into the light shield and exploded, each explosion causing the shield to tremble violently, cracks spreading like a spider web.
Veins bulged on Andrei's forehead; maintaining such a large-scale divine defense was a huge drain on him.
"We can't wait any longer."
Andrei gritted his teeth and took out a pure white ring from his pocket.
The ring is engraved with a relief of a four-winged angel, each feather so delicate it seems as if it might flutter at any moment.
This was the archbishop's final trump card, the storage ring of the four-winged angel of light, which he personally handed to him before his departure.
Using it comes at a price, not to mention the tedious and frustratingly long reports that follow.
But at this moment, Andrei had no choice.
"In the name of light—"
He raised the ring high, his voice booming like thunder across the battlefield.
"Descend, holy messenger!"
The pure white ring shattered instantly, turning into countless points of light that drifted in the air, gathered, spun, and expanded, as if some enormous creature was being forcibly dragged into the present world from another dimension.
The entire underground plaza began to tremble.
The rocks hummed, the ground undulated slightly, and even the tireless undead stopped in their tracks, their soul fires flickering violently in their eye sockets.
Linus looked up abruptly, his lips parted slightly as if he wanted to say something, but in the end it turned into a soft sigh.
He certainly knew what that meant.
The four-winged angel of light is one of the Church's powerful weapons of war, and the manufacture of each one requires unimaginable resources.
The light points converged faster and faster, gradually outlining a blurry human figure.
The outline was initially only the size of an average person, but it expanded by one centimeter every second, reaching a height of ten meters after three seconds.
Four pure white wings unfolded behind the silhouette, each fifteen meters long, stirring up a sacred storm with a gentle flap.
The light began to dim, revealing the true face of the angel.
It was a giant made entirely of light, its face indistinct, with only a pair of golden eyes visible.
It was clad in shimmering armor and held a giant sword formed from light.
There were no words, no pronouncements.
The moment the angels descended, the entire undead army on the battlefield was struck as if by a heavy blow. The low-level skeletons and ghouls were instantly annihilated, and even the death knights and skeletal mages were slowed down, their soul flames flickering erratically.
The lich said solemnly, "You really are willing to spend a lot."
The four-winged angel of light has transcended the ordinary realm, making him a true nemesis for undead creatures.
Without warning or preparation, the angel vanished from the spot in an instant.
The speed was so fast that everyone present only saw a flash of light.
The next instant, the angel appeared before the lich.
A giant sword of light slashed down!
Simple, direct, and without any frills.
But the intensity of light contained in this sword strike made even Cardinal Linus feel suffocated.
Wherever the sword passed, ripples spread through the space, and the death energy that had lingered there for years melted away like ice and snow.
The lich's reaction was equally incredibly fast.
He pointed his bone staff upwards, and countless black bone shields instantly unfolded layer upon layer above his head.
On each bone shield, the faces of vengeful spirits wailing in agony appeared, and the intense aura of death solidified into a tangible form.
The lightsaber clashed with the bone shield.
A dull, heart-stopping vibration continued to resound.
Thump, thump, thump —
The bone shields shattered one after another, the first, the second, the third —
The lightsaber moved with unstoppable force, shattering bone shields one after another, but eventually came to a slight halt.
In that instant of pause, the lich had already drifted back dozens of meters, his bone staff tracing a complete circle in the air.
"Death and decay."
He recited the incantation, his voice as cold as ancient ice.
Within a circular area with a radius of 100 meters centered on him, all colors faded instantly.
The rocks turned into grayish-white powder, and the air was filled with the smell of decay.
Those unfortunate souls caught in the trap, whether friend or foe, turned to ashes in an instant.
This is a domain-level spell, the signature move of an eighth-tier necromancer.
The angel's movements slowed, and the flames on its body fiercely clashed with the deathly decay.
It thrust the greatsword into the ground with its backhand and clasped its hands together.
"Protection of Light"
A gentle yet powerful voice rang out.
A golden light spread out from the angel at its center, enveloping the Holy Knights, Linus, and even Alecto and his retinue.
At the boundary where the Death and Decay Domain met the light shield, a piercing shriek erupted as two diametrically opposed forces tore at each other apart.
"Now's the time!"
Andrei roared, his face as pale as paper, the angel having drained his strength, but he still managed to lift his longsword.
"Knights, charge! Destroy them!"
The knights responded in unison, and the thunderous sound of their heavy armor stomping on the ground rang out once more.
This time, they held nothing back, unleashing all their holy power, transforming themselves into streaks of light that rushed towards the struggling spirits of the dead.
Alecto squinted.
"I didn't expect the church to have such strong trump cards. They're not even at a disadvantage against an eighth-level necromancer. Tsk—"
That way, he won't be able to pull any tricks.
Alecto stood within the protection of the light, feeling the overwhelmingly intense holy light around him.
The red dragon somewhat loathed this power, but it wasn't unbearable, and he admitted that the angel was terrifyingly strong.
"Master, we—"
Gru and Gronn suffered multiple fractures, but the Dragonborn's formidable vitality allowed them to continue fighting.
"wait.
Alecto uttered only one word.
His gaze was fixed on the center of the battlefield.
The battle between angels and liches is no longer a fight they can intervene in.
The angel swung his sword again, and countless divine decrees appeared on its blade.
Before the sword arrived, the law had already descended, forcibly rewriting the laws of the surrounding area.
The space around the lich began to repel him, gravity doubled, and even the flow of magic within his body became sluggish.
But he just sneered.
The bone staff tapped lightly, and a six-pointed star magic circle appeared beneath his feet.
In the center of the magic circle, coffins rose from the ground, the lids opened, and twelve necromancers dressed in black robes and holding bone staffs emerged.
Those weren't summoned creatures; they were real necromancers, each possessing strength at least at the sixth rank.
"I've been studying this for so long, do you think I wouldn't be prepared?"
The lich scoffed.
The twelve necromancers simultaneously raised their bone staffs, their magic coalescing into a torrent that clashed head-on with the angel's holy power.
boom!
The entire underground space shook violently, and the dome began to fall debris.
The runes carved on the stone pillars and the ground lit up, barely keeping the structure from collapsing.
Alector's heart pounded.
It wasn't fear, it was excitement.
He saw an opportunity.
The angels and liches were locked in a stalemate; twelve necromancers struggled to maintain the flow of magic, the paladins were disrupting the magic circle, and Linus was upholding the protection of light.
Everyone's attention was drawn to this.
So, what about the pyramid?
What exactly is hidden inside that pyramid protected by double barriers, which the lich spent ten years trying to open?
Greed burned like wildfire in Alecto's heart.
He licked his lips, golden flames flickering in his eyes.
"Cyrillic."
He called out in a low voice in the language of dragons.
Cyril approached silently. He was also in bad shape, his magic was depleted, and he had several wounds on his body.
"Owner?"
"Can you feel it?"
Alekto pointed to the pyramids: "Inside there—there is a very strong life force."
Cyril's pupils contracted sharply.
A sign of life? In a place like this?
He focused his attention on sensing, and after a few seconds, his expression changed.
"Priceless!"
Alexoth muttered to himself, "The lich wants it, the Church doesn't know, but now—"
His gaze swept across the battlefield.
The battle between angels and liches has reached a fever pitch.
Light and death intertwine to form a devastating storm, instantly tearing apart any creature that gets too close.
Three of the twelve necromancers had already turned to ashes, but the remaining nine were still holding on desperately.
The Paladin Order has annihilated nearly a third of the undead army, but at the cost of more than twenty knights falling.
"Now."
Alecto made the decision.
"Gru, Gronn, you two lead your men to join the Holy Knights and help them clear out the undead, but don't rush too far ahead."
"Cyril, you lead the way."
He used advanced concealment magic to greatly reduce his presence.
"Master, you need—"
Cyril seemed to have guessed something.
"Let's go see that pyramid."
Alecto grinned: "Now that we're here, we can't leave empty-handed."
He quietly retreated, using the chaos of the battlefield as cover, and circled around to the edge of the square.
Alecto moved carefully, stepping in the shadows with each step, avoiding any possible gaze.
The turbulent currents created by the violent collision of light and death perfectly concealed his presence.